Introducing Dogs?

I have a Scottish Terrier - Cairn mix named Scruffy, and my new roommate has a Collie named Lily. Scruffy's been fixed, Lily will be spayed. My new roommate, Brianne, will be moving in at the end of this week.

My problem is, Scruffy has been isolated from other dogs for most of his life - not really because of anything, but just because he's a house dog and doesn't like car rides to places where he can meet other dogs. ANYWAY! Bree and I tried introducing the dogs yesterday, and Scruffy was VERY aggressive, tried to attack her (I was keeping my hand on his collar the entire time). Barked up a storm, and so on. I remember the last time, it took him almost an hour to chill out and start seeing the new dog as a new friend. I didn't time it yesterday, it was probably about 20 minutes, and we introduced them outside.

Any advice to make it easier? Both dogs are about 5 years old, Lily has a more sensitive disposition, and they do have similar personalities (both are lazy and likes to lie around vegging) so I know that they would get along just GREAT. Now if only Scruffy would see that and give her a chance!

During the introduction, Lily was kind of backing away, crying and being very subservient. Did everything but put her tail between her legs and lie down and try to expose her belly.

So... HELP!!!

I'm no expert, but I think you need to let go of the collar... perhaps a 6 foot leash, a pocket full of yummy treats,and a neutral outside place where there' room to move around, if it's too tight a space, or no room to back up, or do what dogs do, which is lots of body language, it can be more tense. same for her dog, just keep an eye so you can pull them apart if it gets ugly...

Introduce them on neutral territory... Perhaphs meet your friend and her dog at the park or somewhere similar. Keep both dogs on a leash, but don't hold the leashes tight because that causes tension. Reward good behavior, such as ignoring the other dog, not barking / growling / attacking.

Do several introductions before they have to live together, and always end on good terms if at all possible.

You might have to enlist the help of a professional trainer who can observe both dogs behaviors and help the situation

MAN it was unbelieveable! I went to sleep around 2:30p today (I work nights), and during that time, my new roommate's dog arrived. I wake up, get ready, and I walk out, and I see Lily and Scruffy calmly sharing the space. I asked Bree what she did, she shrugged (looking confused) and said "All I did was give them each halves of the same treat..."

Scruffy still whines a bit but he's no longer aggressive towards her. We just got back from a walk and I think this will work out just fine!


P.S., sorry for my HUGE sigs, I haven't had the time yet to fix them!

Sometimes dogs are smarter than humans. Terriors are sometimes terrors.... you holding the leash transmitted your anxiety . Glad things worked out !!

Sounds like an easy fix for you. I am just now getting my terrier mix and collie mix to get along. This past weekend our terrier actually started playing with our collie. And our collie has almost stopped eating out of the terriers food bowl. Progress has been really slow but very postive

currently my terrier is trying to show domination by attempting to hump her... Generally they're fine though. Ahh well!